Tunable reflector with active magnetic metamaterials

Opt Express. 2014 Mar 24;22(6):6287-95. doi: 10.1364/OE.22.006287.

Abstract

We placed active magnetic metamaterials on metallic surface to implement a tunable reflector with excellent agile performance. By incorporating active elements into the unit cells of the magnetic metamaterial, this active magnetic metamaterial can be tuned to switch function of the reflector among a perfect absorber, a perfect reflector and a gain reflector. This brings about DC control lines to electrically tune the active magnetic metamaterial with positive loss, zero loss and even negative loss. The design, analytical and numerical simulation methods, and experimental results of the tunable reflector are presented.